180,165 research outputs found

    Agriculture and Dairy Production Systems in China: An Overview and Case Studies

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    The Chinese dairy industry is growing rapidly. Since 1980, the rate of increase in dairy cattle in China's dairy industry (+210,000 cows per year) is 1.7 times higher than the rate of decline of dairy cattle in the US dairy industry (-124,000 cows per year). If the current trends do not change, there will be as many dairy cows in China as in the US-approximately 7.45 million cows in 2012. This two-part Discussion Paper presents the context in which the Chinese dairy industry is developing (Part I) and a study of the Dairy Farm systems and case studies of five farms in the Province of Yunnan, the city of Beijing and the province of Heilongjiang (Part II).Chinese Dairy Industry, Dairy Cows in China, Development of the Chinese Dairy Industry, Chinese Dairy Farm Case Studies, Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management, International Development, International Relations/Trade, Productivity Analysis,

    Exercise of tied dairy cows during the winter

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    The aim was to investigate whether tied dairy cows have a motivation to move per se when exercised during winter and whether they prefer to be outdoors or indoors when exercising. In the first experiment tied dairy cows were observed when exercised outdoors every day, twice a week or once a week. In the second experiment the preference of tied dairy cows for being indoors or outdoors during exercise was tested in two types of preference tests. Cows exercised at longer intervals walked and trotted more than did cows exercised at shorter intervals. The cows that were exercised once and twice a week explored the environment more during exercise than did cows that were exercised every day. The increase in movement with duration of confinement indicates that the cows’ motivation to move built up with time. An alternative explanation is that the walking and trotting was a response to the novelty of the exercise area. However, we did not observe a build-up of explorative behaviour with time. The cows did not show a preference for exercise either indoors or outdoors. Preference for being outdoors or indoors may therefore be independent of the motivation for movement. In future studies this preference may be assessed in a situation where the motivation for movement is controlled. In conclusion, tied dairy cows increased the amount of movement with increased length of indoor confinement. Also, the amount of explorative behaviour was greater for cows exercised less frequently than for cows exercised every day. Finally, tied dairy cows did not show a preference for indoor or outdoor exercise

    ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR DAIRY COW CULLING MANAGEMENT OPTIONS

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    Due to a lack of national information about cull dairy cows, the USDA's National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Dairy '96 Study investigated culling management practices. Operations included in the study represented 83.1 percent of U.S. milk cows. Most dairy cows were culled for reasons associated with their inability to profitably produce high-quality milk and calves; reasons for culling were not usually related to ill health or systemic disease. Results showed that almost all cull dairy cows in the US are intended for beef slaughter, as only about 4.4 percent were sent to other dairy operations. Nearly 77 percent of cows intended for beef slaughter were sent to markets, auctions, and sale barns, while 22 percent were sent straight to slaughter facilities. However, high levels of transportation of cull dairy cows can result in stresses, bruising, and disease exposure. producers of larger herds, classified as having 200 or more cows, tended to cull a larger percentage of cows for low production that was unrelated to disease than did producers of smaller herds, classified as having fewer than 100 cows: cows having low production consisted of 28.1 percent of cull cows from larger herds versus 19.2 percent of cull cows from smaller herds. Use of specific milk production levels to determine timing of culling in combination with monitoring of cow health in order to market cows earlier can prevent losses due to condemnations at slaughter, which can cost the producer $12 for every nonfed bovine marketed. Contact for this paper: Steven OttNAHMS, dairy, cattle, monitoring, epidemiology, production, economics, culling, transportation, milk, marketing, disease, slaughter condemnation, Livestock Production/Industries,

    Modified approach to estimating daily methane emissions of dairy cows by measuring filtered eructations during milking

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    The aim of this study was to compare metrics for quantifying enteric methane (CH4) emissions from individual cows during milking using frequent spot measurements and peak analysis methods. An infrared gas analyser was used to measure the CH4 emitted by cows, and eructation peaks were identified using a Signal Processing Toolbox provided by Matlab. CH4 emissions were quantified by gas peak height, peak amplitude and average concentration, and were expressed in grams per day and CH4 yield (grams per kilogram of dry matter intake (DMI)). Peak analysis measurements of CH4 were obtained from 36 cows during 2,474 milkings, during which cows were fed a ration containing between 39 and 70 % forage. Spot measurements of CH4 were compared to a separate dataset of 196 chamber CH4 records from another group of 105 cows, which were fed a ration containing between 25 and 80 % forage. The results showed that the metrics of CH4 peak height and CH4 peak amplitude demonstrated similar positive relationships between daily CH4 emissions and DMI (both r = 0.37), and a negative relationship between CH4 yield and DMI (r = -0.43 and -0.38 respectively) as observed in the chamber measurements (r = 0.57 for daily emissions and r = -0.40 for CH4 yield). The CH4 metrics of peak height and peak amplitude were highly repeatable (ranging from 0.76 to 0.81), comparable to the high repeatability of production traits (ranging from 0.63 to 0.99) and were more repeatable than chamber CH4 measurements (0.31 for daily emissions and 0.03 for CH4 yield). This study recommends quantifying CH4 emissions from the maximum amplitude of an eructation

    ANALISIS PRODUKSI SUSU SAPI PERAH DI INDONESIA

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    Cow's milk is large in contributing to meeting the needs of people in developing countries to meet nutritional fulfillment. Cow's milk has increased imports due to the problem of cow disease which cannot meet the needs of the Indonesian people who increase every year milk consumption every year. This study aims to analyze milk production trends and factors affecting milk production of dairy cows in Indonesia. The type of data used is secondary data with a vulnerable time of 2012-2021. The analysis methods used are trend analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The results showed that the trend of milk production of dairy cows decreased from 2012-2015 and rose again from 2016-2021. Milk prices and cows population simultaneously affect the volume of milk production of dairy cows in Indonesia

    Impact of endometritis on post-partum ovarian cyclicity in dairy cows

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    Endometritis in dairy cows is a major global issue and has been associated with a decrease in reproductive performance. The aim of this study was to quantify the effect of endometritis (as defined by the presence of any abnormal vaginal discharge after 21 days post-partum) on post-partum ovarian cyclicity in dairy cows. Milk progesterone analysis was used to monitor reproductive cyclicity in 170 dairy cows across three different commercial herds. Associations between the occurrence of endometritis and the incidence risk of a variety of atypical cycle profiles during the calving to conception period were investigated to establish the importance of endometritis on post-partum ovarian activity.Endometritis increased the incidence odds of atypical ovarian profiles (P [less than] 0.05) with prolonged luteal activity being the most affected (P [less than] 0.05), but also showed prolonged time (3 days) to onset of luteal activity after parturition (P [less than] 0.05). Using milk progesterone analysis, we found a relatively low incidence odds for reproductive cycle problems in healthy cows during the calving to conception period. However, the incidence odds of cycle problems, in particular prolonged luteal activity, were high in cows that had experienced endometritis, which would have significantly impaired reproductive function

    The Incidence of Repeat Breeding in Dairy Cows Under Tropical Condition

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    The objective of this study was to investigate the incidence of repeat breeding in dairy cows under tropical condition. This was a preliminary study conducted in Sinjai Regency, Indonesia. A total of 82 Holstein Friesian lactating cows from five dairy farmer groups were used in the present study. Of the 82 cows, 75.6% eventually became pregnant after repeated inseminations (AI). The incidence of repeat breeding in this area was very high (62%). Days in milk (DIM) at first AI, first AI conception rate, and calving to conception interval were 62.5±19.3 days, 0%, and 202.8±150.0 days, respectively. There was no difference in DIM at first AI between repeat breeders and normal fertility cows (60.4±15.2 days vs 68.3±28.6 days). However, normal fertility cows required only 123.3±52.9 days to conceive and 2.4±0.8 inseminations per pregnancy, whereas repeat breeders required significantly more days to conceive (222.9±134.1 days) and more inseminations per pregnancy (4.8±0.9). In conclusion, repeat breeder dairy cows under tropical condition had very poor and reduced reproductive performance

    Comparison between dual-purpose and specialized dairy cattle in pasture-based systems: change in body condition, locomotion score and cleanliness from summer to winter season

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    This study is an exploratory research comparing the changes of body condition score, locomotion score and cleanliness score between pasture and indoor season in purebred Dutch Friesian, 75% Dutch Friesian, 50% Dutch Friesian, Holstein Bakels and Brown Swiss dairy cattle. The dual-purpose cows were expected to cope better with a change in season and harsher environmental conditions compared to specialized dairy cows. Therefore it was expected that the body condition of the dual-purpose cows would be closer to the optimum or even higher and would barely change over season. The specialized dairy cows were expected to cope less well on pastures and during a change of season, with a body condition under the optimum, higher prevalence of lameness and more dirt on the skin, compared to the dual-purpose breeds. Twenty-seven Holstein Bakels cows represented the specialized dairy breed in this study. The dual-purpose cows were represented by fifteen Brown Swiss cows and fifty-two purebred and crossbred Dutch Friesian cows. The Holstein Bakels and Brown Swiss cows were kept at a Polish bio-dynamic farm with an open barn housing concept and a low concentrate feed diet. The purebred and crossbred Dutch Friesian cows were housed at one organic and one conventional farm at different locations in the Netherlands. Body condition score was the highest (just above optimal) for the Dutch Friesian cattle compared to all other breeds and the Holstein Bakels and Brown Swiss breed scored the lowest (under the optimal score). A negative correlation between body condition and locomotion score, as well as a positive correlation between body condition and hygiene score was found. This shows that skinny individuals are more prone to lameness, but not necessarily dirtier. Severely fat individuals show less incidences of lameness, however they are more often covered with dirt. Milk yield was the highest for 50% Dutch Friesian, followed by 75% Dutch Friesian and Dutch Friesian, probably due to the amount of Holstein Friesian genes. The Holstein Bakels and Brown Swiss breed underperformed for milk yield. This shows that the dual-purpose breed Dutch Friesian can cope better with harsher environmental conditions of pasture based systems than more specialised dairy breeds like the Holstein Bakels. Furthermore, the Brown Swiss breed could be considered more as a specialized dairy breed than a dual purpose breed. Change over season might be more dependent on housing, feed quality and quantity and management than genotype

    α-Tocopherol in plasma and milk from organically managed dairy cows fed natural or synthetic vitamin E or seaweed

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    The objective was to compare the effects of supplementing lactating dairy cows with synthetic (All-rac), natural (RRR) α-tocopheryl acetate or seaweed with a control on the concentration of α-tocopherol in blood and milk. Twenty four dairy cows in mid lactation, fed an organic feed ration, were randomly allocated to the four treatments in a replicated Latin square design. Plasma and milk α-tocopherol concentrations were higher in RRR and All-rac than in the other treatments and higher in RRR than in All-rac. RRR-α-tocopherol was the predominant steroisomer (> 86%), in both plasma and milk, whereas the remaining part was largely made up by the three synthetic 2R isomers. In cows fed the control, seaweed and RRR, the proportion of RRR-α-tocopherol in plasma and milk constituted more than 97% of the total α-tocopherol. The study demonstrated that dairy cows in mid and late lactation have preferential uptake of RRR-α-tocopherol compared to other stereoisomer
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